Sunday dealings

It's been a very active Sunday for the Sox. Bryan Corey has been traded to the Padres. Jed Lowrie has been sent down to Pawtucket. Manny Ramirez is out of tonight's lineup with a sore hamstring. And there's news that the Sox remain in talks with the Rockies regarding Julian Tavarez.

Happy for Bryan Corey, a 34-year-old minor league journeyman who might now be able to enjoy his first extended stay in the big leagues. Sad for Jed Lowrie, a 24-year-old rookie who deserves a spot on the 25-man roster but is better off playing every day in Pawtucket. Devastated that my prediction of Manny hitting numbers 498, 499 and 500 tonight will not come true. Optimistic that the Sox can unload Tavarez, Lugo and $2M for David Nied.

Oh wow, Juan Marichal is on Baseball Tonight. That's pretty sweet. Which is the bigger hit to Marichal's reputation, attending that cock fight in the Dominican or being seen with Kruk and Phillips?

The Rays just took three games from the Angels to improve their record to 21-16. Today they got four innings of one-hit ball from the bullpen and toasted Justin Speier for three runs in the sixth. Cliff Floyd returned to the lineup for the first since his April 9 knee surgery and collected 2 hits and 2 RBI. The Rays have the second-best home record in the American League (13-7), a solid bullpen, a rotation headed by Shields and Kazmir and a lineup that is really enjoyable to watch. I wish they weren't in the AL East so I could get behind them just a bit more.

2008 Preview: Shortstops

Name: Julio Cesar Lugo
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Age: 32
2008 Salary: $9M
Fun Fact: Lugo, a town in northern Italy, is the birthplace of Charles Ponzi, who is remembered as one of the greatest swindlers in American history. In 2007 Lugo pulled off a swindle that would make Ponzi blush when he earned $8 million for being the 27th best shortstop in baseball.

Look, I don't want to write about Julio Lugo any more than you want to read about him. What is it you don't like about him? Is it his scowling face, his incessant cup adjusting, the strange way he uses his arms when he runs, or the fact that he had the worst year of his career in the first year of a 4 year, $36 million contract?

Lugo's .643 OPS in 2007 was forty points behind Alex Cora. It's never good to be forty points behind a hitter who is commonly referred to as "pesky." Lugo's numbers were far better post-All Star break (.280/.322/.406) but not so hot that we could label his regular season anything less than an abject failure.

Am I being too negative? Now for the good news! Lugo is entering the season with a lot more confidence! Also, he makes funny faces. I don't know what this is but I can't stop laughing. Is that Enrique Wilson? Oh dear, that's not enough good news for you, is it? Lugo had a .500 OBP in the World Series. Lugo is fast. Lugo has a strong arm. Lugo, scowly countenance aside, is charismatic and popular in the clubhouse. Lugo has made a full recovery from the stomach parasites that plagued him last season. Lugo only has three years left on his contract....

Julio Lugo's 2008 ZiPS projection:
.267 AVG/.335 OBP/.382 SLG
77 Runs
144 Hits
35 Doubles
7 Home Runs
62 RBI
52 BB
96 K

Other options at shortstop:
Alex Cora: An adequate utility infielder. We discussed him here.

Jed Lowrie: 2004 Pac-10 Player of the Year with questionable range (he's been compared to Carlos Guillen), strong plate discipline, and decent pop. Lowrie's name was a constant in the various permutations of the Johan Santana trade rumors. Baseball America rates him as the 5th best prospect in the International League. He'll spend the year at Pawtucket unless Lugo or Pedroia end up on the shelf for an extended period.

Argenis Diaz: This fellow is on the 40-man roster and apparently he's a slick-fielding, slap-hitting, inconsistent 21-year-old.

2008 Preview: Second Basemen

The year is 2007; the month is May. Alex Cora is batting over .400, Dustin Pedroia under .200. Red Sox fans, displaying a characteristic lack of patience, demand a change in the starting lineup. The clamoring for Cora grows so strong that a series of articles begin popping up that seem to assume Cora will become the starter in a matter of days. That's the solution to our problems: Alex F'ing Cora.

The year is 2008; the month is February. Having finished last season with a .298 OBP and 3 home runs, Alex Cora returns to a familiar role: light-hitting utility infielder with a great glove. Reigning rookie of the year and World Series standout, Dustin Pedroia, is firmly entrenched as the Sox starting second baseman.


Name: Dustin Luis Pedroia
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Age: 24
2008 salary: $420,000
Fun Fact: Dustin Pedroia's hometown, Woodland, California, is sister cities with La Piedad, Mexico. La Piedad is the birthplace of Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Yovani Gallardo. Pedroia and Gallardo are sisters.

You know what's most impressive about Dustin Pedroia's 2007 season? The strikeouts. In 520 at-bats he had only 42 of them. To put that in perspective, among the regulars Mike Lowell had the second lowest strikeout total with 71, four Sox batters had more than 100 K's. Not bad for a rookie. Add to that a .317 average, 39 doubles, only 6 errors in 1,141 innings, and intangibles to burn and you've got one hell of a young second baseman. And he's making damn near the league minimum!

We should have no concern about a sophomore slump. For one, this off season Pedroia joined Manny Ramirez, Kevin Youkilis, and Kyle Snyder at Athletes' Performance in Arizona. So we know he'll be fit. Meanwhile, his attitude couldn't be less of a concern—the guy will probably be named the captain the second Varitek retires (presuming, of course, that by this point Papi has also... assuming that ever happens). Pedroia is the bridge between the 2004 group and the core group of the future. He stepped right in as the attitudinal surrogate for the departed Trot Nixon.

Dustin Pedroia's 2008 ZiPS projection:
.292 AVG/.359 OBP/.431 SLG
75 Runs
160 Hits
44 Doubles
10 Home Runs
62 RBI
51 BB
43 K
42 Times being compared to David Eckstein, but better

Name: José Alexander Cora
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Age: 32
2008 salary: $2M
Fun Fact: Alex Cora is not a member of the California Outdoor Rollerskating Association. Surprisingly, he is a member of the Congress of Romanian Americans.

Tough conclusion to the off season for Mr. Cora. Other than, well, I'm stumped. Honestly, Alex Cora may very well the least remarkable player in the majors. We're talking about a player whose career highlight is probably his 18 pitch at-bat against former Red Sox all star(!) Matt Clement, in which Cora fouled off 14 consecutive pitches before blasting a 2-2 pitch out of the ballpark. I like him just fine, but what can one say about the slap hitter who's good with glove other than that he's a slap hitter who's good with the glove?

Well, for one he's a great bunter. You do remember what a bunt is, right, Red Sox fans? Furthermore Cora has the ability to play both second base and shortstop and play them exquisitely. He can play third base adequately and first base in a pinch. Also, he's the emergency catcher. Cora is a valuable guy to have around and last season he came up with some big hits late in ball game, especially during that hot stretch of his early in the season. My one knock on him is that it would be nice to have a utility infielder who could offer some element of speed off the bench.

Alex Cora's 2008 ZiPS projection:
.241 AVG/.311 OBP/.330 SLG
27 Runs
49 Hits
8 Doubles
2 Home Runs
21 RBI
13 BB
23 K
Countless shots of him mugging it up with Manny

Other second base options:
Keith Ginter: 31 year-old non-roster invitee has not appeared in the majors since 2005 when he logged 25 games at second base for the Oakland Athletics. He hit .247 with 15 homers and 62 RBI last season for the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate, Buffalo, last season.

Joe Thurston: 28 year-old non-roster invitee did not appear in the majors last season. Thurston was originally drafted by the Red Sox in 1997 but did not sign. Last season Thurston hit .301 with five homers and 61 RBI between Philadelphia's Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.

Jed Lowrie: Hot shot prospect who currently plays shortstop but may be better suited for second base. He struggled mightily in the Arizona Fall League and likely won't see any major league action until September when the roster expands.